Data to June quarter offers encouragement for Perth property market

THERE was some encouraging news for the Perth property market in the latest data from reiwa.com.

While the median house price recorded a small 0.6 per cent decrease, coming in at $517,000 for the June quarter, REIWA deputy president Damian Collins said the rate of decline had begun to slow.

“We’ve also seen steady discounting levels over the last six months, with the percentage of sellers who have had to reduce their asking price holding at around 54 per cent,” he said.

“Additionally, the amount those that have had to discount by has levelled off at approximately 6.5 per cent, which has likely had a positive effect on the median house price.

“It also shows us that as a whole, sellers’ and buyers’ pricing expectations are moving towards parity, with less variance seen between the two parties, which is pleasing.”

Analysis by reiwa.com showed the South East was the only sub-region to buck the trend of decline in the three months to June, recording a marginal 0.2 per cent increase in the median house price.

“At a sub-market level, our data shows a mixed bag of results, with a number of areas recording positive median house price growth,” Mr Collins said.

“Among the top performers were Wanneroo South in the North West sub-region (up 5 per cent), the western suburbs in the Central sub-region (up 4.7 per cent) and Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale in the South East sub-region (up 3.7 and 3.6 per cent respectively),” Mr Collins said.

Listings for sale in Perth declined by 4 per cent over June and dropped by 1 per cent when compared to the same time last year.

“Listings appear to have stabilised and are on the decline, with all indicators showing improvements,” Mr Collins said.

“Although stock levels are still notably higher than the long-term average, we do appear to have hit the ceiling of available stock which is welcome news for the Perth market.”